As a GP I feel powerless to help elderly people struggling to survive I can refer people to mental health services and social care but they are overloaded and don’t provide much help
Recently a patient brought home to me how inadequate the help I can provide my elderly patients as a GP can be. Among more than 50 phone calls I fielded one day as one of the GPs dealing with urgent requests, there were two from a patient in her 80s who is the main carer for her husband who has dementia. She also has health issues and he is unaware of the problems they face. The receptionist learned far more about the difficulties they were having from the woman’s phone calls to the surgery and from observing them in the waiting room, than I did from my snatched telephone conversations and the scrawled note left for me. I found out later that the only way she could get to the surgery to bring the sample I requested was by locking her husband in the car outside. I knew that things were difficult, but this was a new low. Continue reading... The Guardian
Wednesday, 24 May 2017
Number of GPs has fallen since NHS launched 5-year rescue plan
Number of GPs has fallen since NHS launched 5-year rescue plan The number of GPs has fallen since the NHS launched a "rescue package" to tackle crisis shortages of family doctors, official figures show.
Ministers have repeatedly pledged to bring in 5,000 more GPs, in response to a growing crisis, which has led to record numbers of practices closures across the country.
A year ago, health officials drew up a five-year plan, pledging to put general practice “back on its feet” by recruiting doctors from abroad, offering £20,000 incentives for trainees and bringing in extra support staff. The Daily Telegraph
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Ministers have repeatedly pledged to bring in 5,000 more GPs, in response to a growing crisis, which has led to record numbers of practices closures across the country.
A year ago, health officials drew up a five-year plan, pledging to put general practice “back on its feet” by recruiting doctors from abroad, offering £20,000 incentives for trainees and bringing in extra support staff. The Daily Telegraph
See also:
- New workforce figures "seriously concerning" says RCGP Royal College of General Practitioners
- Number of NHS doctors in England continues to fall The Daily Mail
- GP workforce remains below 2015 levels, official data show GPonline
Tuesday, 23 May 2017
Northampton General Hospital rated as 'good' three years after highly critical watchdog report
Northampton General Hospital rated as 'good' three years after highly critical watchdog report An inspection by the Care Quality Commission has found "significant improvement" at Northampton General Hospital after the watchdog slammed its emergency and end of life care three years ago. Northampton Chronicle and Echo
Nurse who gave KGH patient prescriptions without qualifications suspended
Nurse who gave KGH patient prescriptions without qualifications suspended A former KGH nurse who claimed he had the relevant qualification gave a patient prescriptions without the authority to do so. Northamptonshire Telegraph
Important first steps on the NHS estate
Important first steps on the NHS estate On the day NHS England published Next steps on the NHS five year forward view, the Department of Health published Sir Robert Naylor’s review on NHS property and estates.
The two documents are very different – while NHS England’s focuses on the delivery of an existing strategy, Sir Robert’s report sets out the vision for a new one. This is good news; as our evidence review, conducted to support Sir Robert’s review, highlighted, the NHS has been without an overarching estate strategy for a long time, and in the past it has been unclear as to where overall leadership for estate strategy lies.
The Naylor review comes at a time when capital investment is at its lowest level in real terms since 2005/6, with capital budgets frequently diverted to fund day-to-day activity – a trend likely to continue until 2019/20. The King's Fund
The two documents are very different – while NHS England’s focuses on the delivery of an existing strategy, Sir Robert’s report sets out the vision for a new one. This is good news; as our evidence review, conducted to support Sir Robert’s review, highlighted, the NHS has been without an overarching estate strategy for a long time, and in the past it has been unclear as to where overall leadership for estate strategy lies.
The Naylor review comes at a time when capital investment is at its lowest level in real terms since 2005/6, with capital budgets frequently diverted to fund day-to-day activity – a trend likely to continue until 2019/20. The King's Fund
A Teaching Care Home pilot
A Teaching Care Home pilot This series of reports evaluates a Department of Health funded pilot which aimed to empower the workforce in care home nursing and to ensure the future sustainability of the workforce in the sector. The pilot created five centres of excellence across England which would share learning and best practice and help to strengthen leadership and care culture in care homes. International Longevity Centre
Intersex patients 'routinely lied to by doctors'
Intersex patients 'routinely lied to by doctors' Doctors in the UK routinely lied to patients with disorders of sex development known as intersex conditions, the BBC finds. BBC News
Brexit could force 2,137 GPs out of NHS, warns RCGP
Brexit could force 2,137 GPs out of NHS, warns RCGP Brexit could mean that more than 3m patients across the UK lose their family doctor, the RCGP has warned. GPonline
Third Of Children's Mental Health Services 'Downsizing Or Facing Closure' Causing 'Real Urgency'
Third Of Children's Mental Health Services 'Downsizing Or Facing Closure' Causing 'Real Urgency' A third of children’s mental health services are downsizing or facing closure, a new survey has found.
Worryingly, 84% of NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts say children now need to have more “severe” levels of illness in order to get help.
And 67% say waiting times have got longer over the last five years.
The findings were the result of a joint survey of 3,000 NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts from the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Huffington Post UK
Worryingly, 84% of NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts say children now need to have more “severe” levels of illness in order to get help.
And 67% say waiting times have got longer over the last five years.
The findings were the result of a joint survey of 3,000 NHS counsellors, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts from the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP), British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP), British Psychoanalytic Council (BPC) and UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). Huffington Post UK
We have to address the faultline between social care and the NHS
We have to address the faultline between social care and the NHS One is heavily rationed and means-tested, the other free at the point of use and tax-funded. And when assets are involved, the issue becomes politically toxic
In his first speech to the Labour party conference as prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair declared that he did not want his children to be brought up in a country “where the only way pensioners can get long-term care is by selling their home”. Twenty years later this remains a politically toxic issue – even though many people with care needs might wish they had a home to sell. The events of the past few days illustrate why the bold promises of successive governments to reform the way social care is funded have come to so little.
The Dilnot commission’s proposed cap on the lifetime costs of care was accepted by the coalition government in 2011 – albeit with the cap set at £72,000 rather than the £35,000 to £50,000 range proposed by Dilnot. It even made it on to the statute book as part of the Care Act 2014, and was generally welcomed as providing protection from the “catastrophic” costs faced by the one in 10 who need care costing at least £100,000. Implementing the cap was a Conservative manifesto pledge in the 2015 election but, barely 10 weeks later, the government announced this would be postponed until 2020 as the circumstances were “too difficult”.
Means-testing alone does not address the deeper challenges facing the social care system Continue reading... The Guardian
In his first speech to the Labour party conference as prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair declared that he did not want his children to be brought up in a country “where the only way pensioners can get long-term care is by selling their home”. Twenty years later this remains a politically toxic issue – even though many people with care needs might wish they had a home to sell. The events of the past few days illustrate why the bold promises of successive governments to reform the way social care is funded have come to so little.
The Dilnot commission’s proposed cap on the lifetime costs of care was accepted by the coalition government in 2011 – albeit with the cap set at £72,000 rather than the £35,000 to £50,000 range proposed by Dilnot. It even made it on to the statute book as part of the Care Act 2014, and was generally welcomed as providing protection from the “catastrophic” costs faced by the one in 10 who need care costing at least £100,000. Implementing the cap was a Conservative manifesto pledge in the 2015 election but, barely 10 weeks later, the government announced this would be postponed until 2020 as the circumstances were “too difficult”.
Means-testing alone does not address the deeper challenges facing the social care system Continue reading... The Guardian
NHS trusts overspend by £770m despite bailout funding
NHS trusts overspend by £770m despite bailout funding Trusts fail to limit overspending to £580m but make inroads into previous year’s £2.45bn figure
NHS trusts overspent by £770m last year in the latest sign that hospitals are finding it impossible to meet fast-rising demand for care while their finances are facing an unprecedented squeeze.
That total is £190m more than the £580m maximum that health service bosses had sought from England’s 236 NHS trusts in 2016-17. Continue reading... The Guardian
NHS trusts overspent by £770m last year in the latest sign that hospitals are finding it impossible to meet fast-rising demand for care while their finances are facing an unprecedented squeeze.
That total is £190m more than the £580m maximum that health service bosses had sought from England’s 236 NHS trusts in 2016-17. Continue reading... The Guardian
First-line antibiotics now fail in 1 in 4 pneumonia cases
First-line antibiotics now fail in 1 in 4 pneumonia cases More than 22% of patients did not respond to a first dose of antibiotics, a Californian study found. Meanwhile, G20 health ministers agree to tackle antibiotics resistance. The Daily Mail
Doctors never told man about aneurysm the size of a golf ball
Doctors never told man about aneurysm the size of a golf ball A man died after doctors found an aneurysm the size of a golf ball - but failed to tell him or take any action for five years, an inquest has heard.
A coroner has written to Jeremy Hunt following the death of John Higgs, who was repeatedly seen in hospital, without anything being done about the bulging blood vessel which went on to kill him.
Mr Hunt has been warned of “a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken” at Barnsley Hospital in South Yorkshire, unless its systems are overhauled. The Daily Telegraph
A coroner has written to Jeremy Hunt following the death of John Higgs, who was repeatedly seen in hospital, without anything being done about the bulging blood vessel which went on to kill him.
Mr Hunt has been warned of “a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken” at Barnsley Hospital in South Yorkshire, unless its systems are overhauled. The Daily Telegraph
Monday, 22 May 2017
NHS funding choices and the 2017 General Election
NHS funding choices and the 2017 General Election The Nuffield Trust set out different scenarios about possible future spending on the NHS in England including an analysis and comparison of the latest pledges from the three main parties' manifestos.
See also:
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Social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing
Social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing A new report, #StatusOfMind, examines the positive and negative effects of social media on young people’s health.
The report includes a league table of social media platforms according to their impact on young people’s mental health. YouTube tops the table as the most positive with Instagram and Snapchat coming out as the most detrimental to young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Royal Society for Public Health and Youth Health Movement
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The report includes a league table of social media platforms according to their impact on young people’s mental health. YouTube tops the table as the most positive with Instagram and Snapchat coming out as the most detrimental to young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Royal Society for Public Health and Youth Health Movement
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Nearly 3.5 million patients at risk of losing their family doctor through Brexit, warns RCGP
Nearly 3.5 million patients at risk of losing their family doctor through Brexit, warns RCGP New analysis from the College, released today, shows that 3,456,481 patients could be left without a family doctor if the 2,137 GPs across the UK, that the RCGP estimates are from the European Union, are forced to leave.
This constitutes 5% of the workforce in England at a time when NHS England’s GP Forward View has pledged 5,000 more full-time equivalent GPs by 2020 – but latest workforce figures actually showed a drop of 445 FTE GPs in the three months from September to December 2016. Royal College of General Practitioners
This constitutes 5% of the workforce in England at a time when NHS England’s GP Forward View has pledged 5,000 more full-time equivalent GPs by 2020 – but latest workforce figures actually showed a drop of 445 FTE GPs in the three months from September to December 2016. Royal College of General Practitioners
Mental health deaths probed at Essex NHS trust
Mental health deaths probed at Essex NHS trust Up to 20 deaths at an NHS-run mental health unit are being investigated as part of a police inquiry, the BBC has learned.
It follows fresh investigations into the death of Matthew Leahy, who was found hanged at Linden Centre in 2012.
His mother, Melanie Leahy, said her talks with Essex Police suggested the cases had taken place in the last 17 years.
The Essex NHS Trust said patient safety was a "top priority". BBC News
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It follows fresh investigations into the death of Matthew Leahy, who was found hanged at Linden Centre in 2012.
His mother, Melanie Leahy, said her talks with Essex Police suggested the cases had taken place in the last 17 years.
The Essex NHS Trust said patient safety was a "top priority". BBC News
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Cigarettes sold in plain green packs under new rules
Cigarettes sold in plain green packs under new rules New rules have come into force which mean cigarettes and tobacco must be sold in plain green packets and carry graphic health warnings.
The rules, which also end the sale of packets of 10, are designed to deter young people from taking up the habit.
Health groups have welcomed the measure, as the number of smokers in the UK continues to decline.
But a smokers' group says the changes "infantilise" consumers and will make no difference to public health. BBC News
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The rules, which also end the sale of packets of 10, are designed to deter young people from taking up the habit.
Health groups have welcomed the measure, as the number of smokers in the UK continues to decline.
But a smokers' group says the changes "infantilise" consumers and will make no difference to public health. BBC News
See also:
- E-cigarette laws to changed this weekend - Here’s how vapers will be affected Northamptonshire Telegraph
NHS performance data 'likely to be delayed until after election'
NHS performance data 'likely to be delayed until after election' The publication of key financial performance data from the NHS in England will be delayed until after the election, the BBC understands.
Regulator NHS Improvement had wanted to publish data on the scale of hospital deficits but was advised against it by the government.
NHS Improvement said it was "disappointing" the results could not be published until after the election.
The Department of Health and the Conservative Party did not comment.
In a statement, NHS Improvement said a date for the publication of the figures had to be agreed with the Department of Health, but this had not been done when the election for 8 June was called. BBC News
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Regulator NHS Improvement had wanted to publish data on the scale of hospital deficits but was advised against it by the government.
NHS Improvement said it was "disappointing" the results could not be published until after the election.
The Department of Health and the Conservative Party did not comment.
In a statement, NHS Improvement said a date for the publication of the figures had to be agreed with the Department of Health, but this had not been done when the election for 8 June was called. BBC News
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GPs to be balloted over 'collective list closure' in GP crisis protest
GPs to be balloted over 'collective list closure' in GP crisis protest LMCs have ordered the GPC to ballot the profession over a possible mass closure of GP lists to highlight the crisis facing general practice. GPonline
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